I’m thinking that I’m spending too much time online. The free time I have is so precious and rare, and it feels like too much of it is frittered away on Google Reader, Twitter, and Facebook. I’ve been finding myself annoyed at things online that never bothered me before, which tells me…might be time to step away from my electronic friend.

Here’s what’s been bugging me. And, if you’re someone who does any of this, please don’t feel like I’m singling you out – I’m not at all. This isn’t a passive aggressive attempt to let someone know I’m annoyed with them. Just my own bitchiness. Okay, here we go. In random order: Things Annoying Me On The Internet!

• RSS feeds that only show you a snippet of the post. Why even bother having a feed, really? If your post is amazing, hilarious, and entertains me, I WILL CLICK THROUGH AND COMMENT ON IT. I promise. But I don’t like feeling like I HAVE TO click through, just to read what you have to say.
• Lengthy posts, which go into dramatic detail about how someone’s been wronged by someone else – with absolutely no detail at all about the situation itself or the parties involved. Especially when these posts are a regular feature. I want to support you, I do, but I have no idea if someone killed your relative or just cut you off in traffic.
• Posts which invoke the LOLCATS style of writing. I just find myself annoyed by this NOW, but it didn’t bother me a couple of years ago. Maybe it’s played out. Maybe I’m played out. I’m not sure.
• Updates on Twitter that don’t make sense. I mean, I know there’s a story there. You just aren’t effectively conveying it in 160 characters. Nice try, though! Just…write a blog post. Then link to it on Twitter. I’ll go read it! I will!
• Pairing Twitter and Facebook, so that every single Tweet updates on Facebook as well. I used to do this, and it annoyed ME to see MY OWN crap all over my Facebook page. It annoys me more to see other people’s stuff. Not that you aren’t awesome and cool, but it’s two separate audiences, in a lot of cases. If we’re friends on both places, I don’t really want to read that update twice. And if we’re friends on FB only, I’m not interested in your “retweet” when it appears on Facebook. I can’t click on your @so-and-so and see who they are from Facebook. And you’re probably talking about something that your Facebook friends don’t even care about. If you’re doing this, consider using the Selective Twitter app for Facebook. You just need to add “#fb” to the end of your Tweet, and it will appear on Facebook. Otherwise, it just stays on Twitter.
• Blog content which is comprised only of Flickr photos, Yelp reviews, memes using Mr. Linky, plugs for contests, sponsored content, and your Twitter feed. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things. But, please: celebrate this medium! Write a heartfelt, actual post once in awhile. Share some of your true self. Your readership will love you for it.

Again, wanted to state for the record: I’m not singling out ANYONE, either obviously, or passive aggressively. This isn’t about you. It’s about everyone. And I love everyone! I’m just crabby today, and wanted to put it out there!

Possibly Related

• January 14, 2010 -- National De-Lurking Day!
• September 29, 2009 -- Facebook Amnesty! You can delete me, it’s okay.
• September 22, 2009 -- “Better you than me!”
• January 29, 2009 -- Sponsored Content Ruins Search Results.
• July 8, 2008 -- I hate technical shit!